


No One But You

by SouthForWinter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:39:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6279325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthForWinter/pseuds/SouthForWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin dreams that Daniel returned instead of Marian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No One But You

The sound of glass shattering caused Robin to jump. The whole diner went silent as he turned to see Regina with her arm still outstretched, the drink he'd just handed her now a puddle on the floor, seeping out slowly until the edges of liquid meet her high-heeled shoes.

Her mouth opened and closed in silent shock until her voice, barely audible, strained across the silent room.

"Daniel?"

At the name, Robin finally managed to tear his eyes from Regina and follow her gaze to the middle of the room where a young man was standing in shock.

_Daniel_. He recognized the name, and with Regina's reaction, he knew it had to be the man from the tragic tale she'd told him not three hours before. The impossibility of it all held him in place as Regina stepped forward timidly, not even noticing the wet floor or the broken glass that crunched underfoot.

"Regina!" Daniel closed the remaining gap quickly and pulled her into his arms.

She stood, clutched to him awkwardly, gone rigid, but after feeling his arms around her, hearing his voice, she finally seemed to accept the reality of it and fiercely returned the embrace.

He swung her around, kissing the side of her head. "You look so different," he said, laughing in happiness. "But just as beautiful. I did not know if you'd be in this world."

"How?" she asked tearfully. "How are you here? How are you alive?"

"It was Ms. Swan who brought me here," Daniel told her, pointing to Emma, and Robin felt an irrational anger at the woman rise to the surface.

Regina glanced over to her sometimes-enemy in disbelief before looking back at Daniel in a way that made Robin's heart drop. It was a look which, prior to now, had only ever been directed at him. There was such love, happiness and warmth and the next second, she pressed her lips to Daniel's.

Robin's head spun as he watched the pair and when they pulled apart, it was as if everything else around them was swallowed up and the whole world consisted only of her. She caught sight of him and her smile faded, but didn't disappear completely.

"Robin." She'd forgotten he was even there and she sounded pained, as if it would all be so much easier if he weren't. "I'm sorry."

He didn't need her to explain why. Her face said it all as she looked at him one last time before turning back to Daniel, her watery smile lighting up at the sight of him.

His heart was lying with those shattered pieces of glass, Robin was sure. Equally broken and beyond repair. Mere minutes before, he'd kissed her and she'd looked into his eyes with the same expression she was giving this man now. And he knew how much she'd loved him, but she'd loved him as he'd loved Marian; ever-presently, but a changed love because they'd moved on, because they'd had to heal.

"Regina," he called, and his voice was pleading, hanging on by one last tiny shred of hope. "Please."

" _Robin._ "

He frowned, hearing the familiar voice that didn't belong to the woman in front of him. It was hurt, full of disappointment and then it sounded again.

"Robin, wake up. You're dreaming again."

It took him a moment to regain awareness. The voice belonged to Marian, he realized, and just like every night for the past week and a half, he went through the full range of emotions. The belief that he was still dreaming, then remembering her return, reliving the joy that it was real and she was alive, and then the grief of what it meant for him and Regina. He'd dreamed of her every night, and every night was the same.

The first time, he'd barely recalled the details of the dream as they slipped away upon waking. He'd only remembered the loss of Regina and felt it keenly. But every night his memory had grown stronger, and every night it was Marian who woke him, having heard him from where she slept on the other side of the tent. It was the restlessness and the calling of Regina's name that woke her, always at different points of the dream. Never in time to stop him from seeing that heartbreaking expression on Regina's face.

He wasn't the only one suffering from the dreams. Just as with all the previous nights, Marian knelt over him with those sad eyes, which grew more and more tired with each dream she woke him from.

"Marian—" he started, but she put her hand up.

"You love her." There wasn't a question, and there was no anger. Frustration, yes, but mostly resignation and sadness.

He didn't have to say anything. She already knew.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I'm so sorry." A tear fell at the realization that this was an ending for them. He saw now that there'd been nothing between them since her return. They'd both felt the distance, kept the distance physical as well after that first hug, which is what made him blink when she reached forward, gently wiping the tear away even as her own fell. "I have to—" he said, brushing it away for her, and she reached for his hand.

"I know. It's morning already. You shouldn't waste any more time."

He squeezed her hand, looking into her eyes so she'd know how much he meant it when he said, "It was never a waste."

She smiled sadly at him. "Off with you. I'll look after Roland."

He wanted to kiss her cheek, but it would be too painful for both of them. Instead, he gave her hand one last squeeze before standing and leaving the tent and the camp behind.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Regina sat across from him, an inscrutable expression on her face, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the table. She'd let him in after some hesitation, shocked at his early morning appearance and wary of the reasons for his visit.

Now, having divulged his feelings since Marian's arrival, his dreams, their mutual agreement that their marriage was over, he sat waiting for her reaction. They'd agreed shortly after Marian's return that nothing could be decided right away – everything had happened far too abruptly – but he knew she'd thought it was over and he'd already made his decision. He couldn't blame her.

_I would have walked through hell_. The words, however true, had haunted him since that night. He'd wished more than anything he had the power to take them back. Because he _would_ have walked through hell, but not anymore. For her to live? Absolutely. But not for the two of them to be together.

She watched him closely, and he saw the emotions dancing in her eyes, but the rest of her remained stiff. He was about to ask her to say something – anything – when she finally spoke.

"Daniel _did_ come back," she nearly whispered, and then her mask dropped as she grimaced and dropped her gaze to where her hands rested in her lap.

"He…" Robin wondered if he'd heard correctly. Or was she speaking of a dream like his own? Had she dreamt Daniel returned so that she could be with him rather than Robin?

"Long before us," she continued, and he sat back in confusion. He didn't want to interrupt with questions. "Long before we met. It…" She cleared her throat and looked up to meet his eyes again. "It wasn't long after the curse had been broken that first time. Whale needed a favor, and he thought…" She swallowed heavily and forced herself to push forward. "He thought if he brought back my fiancé, I would be more… _amenable_ to helping him." She spit the word and he could see the anger that built up within her at the mention of Storybrooke's physician.

"As with everything else the man's ever done, he managed to make a mess of it. Daniel was—" Her voice wavered and she wiped a tear that had begun to fall. "He was, umm…he was different…wrong. Still Daniel deep inside, but he couldn't control the darkness that was attempting to consume him. We had time to say goodbye." She gave a bitter laugh and sniffed, wiping away more tears. "Which is more than we had the first time, I suppose."

Robin wanted so desperately to reach across the table to her – to take her in his arms. He was horrified. The story she had was more painful than he could ever have imagined, but he could sense her desire to finish before he did anything. Before, when she'd been silent, he now knew she'd been deciding whether or not to tell him, and whether or not she'd be able to.

"He told me to love again, and then he asked me to kill him," she said flatly. "And so I did, because I couldn't stand to watch him suffer. And because the darkness in him was dangerous." She gulped back more tears. "He never had the chance to discover the darkness in _me._ If he'd known who I became, the things I'd done—"

"He still would have loved you," Robin told her vehemently, unable to remain silent any longer.

"But how can you be sure?" Regina cried. "He told me to love again, but I'm not worth that. I'm not—"

"Stop." He pushed the chair back as he stood and rounded the table to sit in the chair next to hers. Facing her, he finally allowed himself to touch her, reaching for her hands. "You _are_ worth it. You have so much love to give, and there's so much about you to love."

"Sometimes I wonder," she swallowed. "If he had stayed alive, if we..." Sighing, she tilted her head toward the ceiling and closed her eyes. "I thought about it again when Marian came back. And I don't think…I don't think Daniel and I would fit anymore. I'm different now than I was when I was with him. I will always love him, but if he had stayed alive, I don't think we'd still be together." She turned her full gaze on him. "But you're a good man, Robin. And Marian is alive."

Robin shook his head. "We've changed as well, and while I can't imagine losing Marian a second time—"

"You shouldn't leave her because of some sense of guilt. This is why I wasn't sure if I should tell you—"

"You didn't let me finish," Robin said, cutting her off. "While I can't imagine losing Marian a second time, I also understand that her being alive doesn't mean we should be together. I love Marian, but I'm _in_ love with you." She gasped, but he didn't stop. "I'm not coming to you out of guilt, Regina. I came here to tell you that I've chosen you. I'm glad you told me about Daniel, but I'd chosen you before you told me. I will always choose you. I came here because I hoped that you felt the same way and we could start fresh."

"But Marian—"

"Knows who I want and need to be with. And on some level, she understands. As I've told you, the dissolution of our marriage was a mutual agreement."

"I..." Regina shook her head, unable to believe what was happening.

"I'm not leaving Regina," Robin told her firmly. "I won't leave you."

She blinked at him through her tears, and when he pulled her forward, she allowed herself to be pulled into his lap and held against him. He kissed her lightly and as she wrapped her arms around his neck, he pressed a kiss onto her forehead. "I won't leave you."

She leaned her forehead against his and sighed. "Promise?" she whispered.

"I promise."


End file.
